- Why do my monthly and yearly Gross MRR Churn figures not match?
- How are Gross MRR Churn figures calculated differently in monthly vs. yearly reports?
Solution
It is incorrect to compare reports with Monthly and Yearly granularity.
Both use different calculation logics and time references, leading to variations in reported churn totals.
Let’s use the Total MRR Churn report for understanding.
Logic Differences
Monthly Report
- Each month is a self-contained period.
- If a customer churns in March and returns in April, March still records the full churn.
- Multiple churn events by the same customer are each counted separately.
Yearly Report
- Consider net churn over the entire year.
- Reactivations offset previous churns within the same year.
- The total churn value is often smaller than the sum of monthly churns.
Time Period Differences
Example
A customer churns in April, reactivates in June, churns again in September →
- Monthly reports shows 1 churn in April and 1 in September, so the total number of churns is 2.
- Yearly report: counts this as 1 churn.
If the same customer reactivates again in October and remains active →
- Monthly churn is still 2.
- Yearly churn becomes 0 (since the customer ends the year active).